Encounters
by magmay12
Summary: Julia is just a journalist looking for time away. Little does she know that brushes with the infamous Gregory House will end up changing her life. Houseoc
1. Chapter 1

"I can't do this." I said, looking my friend Angela in the eye. I, by the way, am Julia Campson and I live in Boston. I work for a magazine called World, it is similar to National Geographic. I am a journalist there. I am 35 years old, acting 40 but wanting to be 25 again. I am a short brunette who doesn't really take no for an answer and will work as hard as I can to get to the bottom of anything I am writing about. I come from a family of five kids and barley ever go home. 

"What, take a vacation? Jules you have been working here for over ten years and have barely taken a week off for vacation. You deserve this."

"There is a reason for that you know." I said, eyeing my phone. I wanted a vacation but I knew I shouldn't take one. Where would I go anyway. I don't take pleasure in tropic locations and my job lets me travel around the world, so where is there left to go really.

"Go visit your family for God's sake. You haven't spent a month with them in how long?" Angela wasn't going to quit. "Plus, it will give you some time away from Josh. I mean if you stay here you have to see him everyday."

"Thank you for reminding me." Josh was my ex-boyfriend because I had made the mistake of dating a co-worker. I knew it had been a mistake. "I just don't know Ange, I have sacrificed a lot to get where I am, I don't want to lose it."

"You aren't going to lose your position just because you took a vacation." Angela said, rolling her eyes. As I opened my mouth to protest she put her hand up to my mouth and picked up the phone. Dialing she handed me the phone and put her hand over the cradle.

_"Mr. Bate's office. This is Marissa speaking. How may I help you?"_

"Hi Marissa, it's Julia, is Mr. Bate in?"

"Yes he is, hold while I patch you through"

"Okay, thank you." I said, looking up at Angela again. I couldn't believe that this was happening. I was actually going to take a vacation, my first in five years. That may sound ridiculous but my passport was already full of stamps from various countries.

"So?" Angela said anxiously.

"She's patching me through."

The rest of the conversation went as most probably think it would. I asked Mr. Bate for a vacation and he readily agreed. So here I am, three days later standing at the baggage claim at Newark Airport waiting for my family or luggage, which ever happens to come first. For me, it was my luggage and the biggest pain I have ever experienced.

Standing near me at the next baggage claim over was a tall, somewhat lanky man leaning on a cane and a woman standing next to him, arms crossed and black, tightly curled hair pulled back by a clip. "You know House, if you hadn't been yourself people wouldn't find you such a pain."

"And if you stopped wearing low cut tops people would stop thinking you were a hooker. But we can't always get what we want, now can we." The man said, looking impatiently at his watch and then at the baggage moving at a snails pace. "Can't this thing move any faster?" He impatiently whined, bouncing his cane on the ground.

Thump-thump-thump. It went up and down, rhythmically and quite annoyingly. Normally I wouldn't have said anything but I was stressed and angered that my family hadn't arrived yet. "Excuse me sir, can you please not do that." I asked in the nicest voice I could muster and I flashed him a small smile.

He paused for a moment and turned his head to look at me. "Could you please mind your own business." He snapped back at me before resuming bouncing his cane up and down.

I looked at him and smiled the sweetest I knew how and stepped forward so that I was near enough to make him uncomfortable. "I would mind my own business except for you bagging that piece of wood on the floor is distracting I can't even hear myself think. So how about you stop doing that before I grab it you of your hand and shove it where the sun don't shine. Thank you." Turning around I saw my brother pull up and I headed towards the door. In the background I heard the thumping stop and the stifled laughter of the man's woman companion.

This vacation was already better than I expected.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days down and I was already restless. I needed a story to follow or a place to go. "Sis, why don't you just go for a walk or something?" My brother David suggested. What sucks about taking a vacation at a period of time it wouldn't be expected. Everyone else still has to work. 

"I walk twice a day already Davie. Plus I know this town backwards and forwards. There is nothing new to see." I said back, spinning my remaining Lucky Charms marshmallows around in my bowl.

"Well how about heading up to New York this weekend." My sister Tonya suggested.

"Sounds great, but Ton, it's Tuesday. I still have at least three more days until that can happen." I said, pouring out the green milk at turning to face my brothers and sisters. Of the four I have, three of decided to raid my parents house every morning for breakfast and coffee. My older sister and brother Tonya and David were both teachers and the local high school. My younger sister Antoinette had been a sports star in high school and college. She now was the coach of the high school soccer team. Then there was Kyle the baby of the family and my baby brother. He owned his own restaurant and was probably the most successful of all of us and yet he spent most of his time at my parents house, bumming off of them. He was the one that saved me from myself. "I have an idea." He said that morning, stepping in the kitchen.

"My ears are open." I said, jumping up on the counter and eyeing him suspiciously.

"You can go visit Grandpa Keenan at the hospital." He said, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down at the table.

"I thought Gramps was in a coma." I said, mostly aiming it as a question towards my brothers and sister.

"He is, but they are saying now that if people visit him he shows signs of improvement. I don't know why mom and dad don't pull the plug its been almost ten years." Tonya said, sipping her coffee.

"Well, every time they go to the doctors tell them that there is new experimental treatment that could bring him out. Plus dad doesn't want to let go of him." David said, grabbing his bag and heading towards the door. "You coming Ton?"

"Yeah, I'm right behind you." She said, patting my head and heading out the door behind my brother.

"See you at dinner!" I yelled after them. "You really think I should go and visit Gramps." I asked Kyle who was engulfed in the paper.

"Yeah, no one has been up to see him in a while, plus it will give you something to do."

So there I was at the front desk of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital a bouquet of flowers in my hand waiting my turn. "Hi. What can I do for you?" A woman with strangely white teeth and a crooked smile greeted me.

"Yes, I am looking for Keenan Campson he is a patient here." I said, stepping up. I wasn't sure if he even had his own room anymore.

"Campson, Campson?" Crooked Smile said under her breath and she searched the computer. "Ah, Campson, Keenan. He is in room 204. Do you need any help finding that?" She asked, flashing me with her white teeth. Those things could be lethal.

"Uh, no. I think I have it. Thank you." I gave her a small smile and headed towards the elevator. One crowded elevator and a 'bing' later and I was on the second floor. Heading towards room 204 I noticed that the TV was on. A nice gesture but a little odd I thought. "Grandpa I-" Stopping disentrance as I entered the room I saw a cane leaning against a chair and a very familiar lanky man sleeping in the chair. It took at the niceness in me (which can be a lot, I promise) not to hit him over the head with the flowers and drag him into the hallway. Instead I placed the flowers next to my grandpa and then looked at the man. He was either a doctor, janitor or a drunk who didn't know where else to go. I figured the first but hoped the latter. It would make my life so much easier. Turning off the TV I turned and faced the man, arms folded and waited for him to open his eyes.

I didn't have to wait long because his pager went off and he awoke with a start. "Good morning Sunshine. Enjoy your nap?" I asked, walking closer and closer to him before I was inches away. The man didn't say anything he just stared at me and as the realization happened he glared at me.

"What are you going to threaten to shove my cane somewhere since you caught me sleeping in a room." He said, grumbling and standing up.

"No, I am going to contact your administrator because not only are you sleeping on the job, because I am going to assume you work here, but happen to be sleeping in my Grandfather's room. He may be in a coma but I am pretty sure he can still hear and feel. So, before I get really mean how about you march yourself back to your office or where ever it is that you take up space and take up space there because if I find you in this room again there is no telling what I will do.'

The man saluted me and then headed for the door but he paused before he left. "What's your name?" He asked, spinning to face me. It was now that I was taken aback by the vibrant color of his eyes. The blue was cold but warming at the same time. I was so drawn to them I almost missed the question.

"What's it to you?"

"Well I usually like to know the names of the people the have the audacity to threaten me." He said, a smirk on his face.

"I'm Julia."

Nodding his head he then gestured to himself. "House." With that he was out of the door and down the hallway. Then I turned to face my grandpa. I had come on vacation to get away from men. Not to meet new ones.


End file.
